While browsing for information on Windows, I found an article about "Windows 2001" at the Wayback Machine.The screenshot in the article reminded me of the Windows 8 UI (or a Metro application).

"This sneak peek at Microsoft's 'Neptune' interface shows the highly simplified and Web-centric approach Microsoft will be taking to make PCs easier to use for the millions who have yet to get started with computing and the Internet."

I remember seeing this way back then and thought it looked great actually. At the time it reminded me of the Encarta UI. The final product isn't perfect but I think it's only going to get better. Half the problem is that developers can't even stick to the basic Modern UI design principles.